darklandsfandomcom-20200215-history
Bow Weapons
"Bow Weapons" (WBow) is the proper name of the skill for characters. Enemy guards often draw bows in battle, as well. The skills in Darklands are: __TOC__ Description WBow governs a character's chances of hitting a target with bow-and-arrow. One skill point is equal to two-thirds of a percentage point increment in the hit rate; then, separate penalties apply if the user lacks the strength and/or skill required to operate that particular bow. The other elements of the calculation are the target's agility and the size (or absence) of his shield, but a high-enough skill can obviate these factors. Because of their penetration scores, WBow may be a more promising weapons category to train than WThr as the party starts encountering more heavily-armored foes. And bows' firing rates make them far-superior to the WMsD category for prolonged battles at range. The missile hit rate calculation is: % To Hit = 50 + (2 × (Attacker's Skills − Target's Defense) ÷ 3) Attacker's Skills is equal to the relevant ranged weapon skill; then if applicable, '-1' for each point of Str below the weapon's strength range and '-2' for each point of skill below its skill range. Target's Defense is equal to 2 × Agl modified by the encumbrance table below, and added to the shield's value given in the table second-below: Saints Potions Trueflight increases WBow if a bow is armed and the skill is below 99. Deadly Blade, Strongedge, and Greatpower are supposed to improve damage, penetration, and quality, respectively, on melee weapons, but appear to extend their effect to the currently-equipped ranged weapon. Descriptive Excerpts Enemy Bowmen These are noted as being the single instance in the game where the party's Agl attributes are relevant on the battlefield. Guard Sergeants in Castles and Cities can be found drawing Short Bows in combat. Longbowmen will occasionally be seen as well, and these can pose a more serious threat on account of their high armor-penetration. Training WBow Party members who have used a ranged weapon during combat and are equipped with a bow at the conclusion can gain an increment of +1 to +5 WBow. The higher the character's skill level, the less likely it is that an improvement will occur. Tutoring in WBow may be available from guild bowyers in cities. The chance of improvement when training the skill at a city's inn is solely dependent on the hidden skill rating of the trainer. The party needs to meet a minimum Local rep threshold to be able to "request a meeting with the guild's masters" when visiting the Bowyers. The availability of WBow training from a specific source, the local rep threshold, and the skill of the tutor is all determined by the game's random seed. Ranged Glitch A glitch for removing the speed factor from ranged attacks exists, which causes a party member's downtime with ranged weapons to be barely more than a second. The character and the target enemy need to be close enough to fit on the battle screen at once, with no scrolling. When the character is about to fire, pause and click on the character and issue the order Flee (F) but do not designate a spot to flee to— simply unpause combat instead. If done correctly, the character will probably switch visuals and appear to be swinging his or her melee weapon... but ammunition actually is being fired at the target, too, as fast as the character swings. Category:Skills Category:Items